Washing machine



Oct. 7, 1941.

c. K. SKINNER 2,258,227

WASHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Pi 3 S2 L.

His Attorne Oct. 7, 1941. c. K. SKINNER WASHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

1ilddlvllllryllllllllrfflllllllff 4 I III 7411 f/llfilll/llrll v1.7lfIl/llllllllllll yfll/llllllllflIl/l/ VIIIII/Il/IllI/fll/llfflllfffll 0 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\inr Inventor: Charles K 5kinne His Attorney.

Patentetiloct. 7, 1 941 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlce WASHINGMACHINE New York Application December 10, 1940, Serial No. 369,418

Claims.

The present invention relates to clothes washing machines.

The object of my invention is to provide 'an improved construction and arrangement for varying the liquid level in the machine so that smaller than normal loads of clothes may be washed in less than the normal amount of water. For a consideration of what I believe novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claims appended thereto. 7

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a washing machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the agitator and associated liquid level controlling device, the device being in the position for maintaining the normal. or-maximum liquid level; Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the upper end of the agitator showing the liquid level controlling device in the position for maintaining the minimum liquid level; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the liquid level controlling device; and

Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are respectively sectional views taken on lines 5-5, 6--5, '|--'l, and 88 of Fig. 2. Referring to the drawings, there is shown a washing machine having an outer casing l provided with supporting casters 2 and a cover 3..

Within the upper part of the casing and above the normal liquid level therein is a rotatable receptacle 4 seated in a'carrier comprising a hub 5, a balance ring 6, and spaced radial arms I connecting the hub and balance ring below the bottom wall 8 of the clothes receptacle. The clothes receptacle has side walls 3, fitting tightly within i the balance ring 6, which flare outward and upward'from the bottom wall 8 and terminate at their upper edges in. an inwardly offset rim III on which is seated a ring I I carrying an annular filter l2 of cloth or wire mesh screen. The friction between the balance ring and the receptacle side walls is such that the carrier and receptacle rotate as a unit. At the inner edge of the filter is a ring I3 flaring upward and outward from the inner edge of the filter and terminating in a rounded edge l4 above the upper edge of the ring II. The ring l3 provides an opening through which clothes may be inserted or removed from the clothes receptacle 4. .During washing, liquid is circulated from the bottom of the casing i by a pump it having its inlet connected by a conduit It to a drain opening I! in the bottom wall ll of the casing and having its discharge connected to a conduit l9 extending-up along the outside of the casing l and in through .an'opening 20 in the cover 3. The conduit l3 discharges onto the upper surface of the annular filter I2 1' level in the clothes receptacle.

which removes suspended particles from the liquid. The receptacle 4 is removably fastened to the carrier by a snap ring 2| in an enlarged sleeve 22 fixed at the lower end of the carrier hub 5. A rubber grommet 23 fixed to the bottom wall of the clothes receptacle 4 seals the joint between the receptacle and the carrier hub. At or slightly above the liquid level in the clothes receptacle are openings 24:: in the receptacle side walls. These openings, being in the region of greatest diameter, serve as discharge openings during centrifugal drying and also serve to some extent as overflow openings forlimiting the liquid Within the clothes receptacle is an agitator 24 having a hub 25 depending around the carrier hub 5 and terminating at its lower end in a disk 26 adjacent the bottom wall 8 of the receptacle. A plurality of radial vanes 21 project from the agitator hub and disk. The lower end of the agitator hub is joumaled on the sleeve 22 on the carrier hub 5 by means of a bearing. fixed in a recess 29 in the under side of the agitator. The

upper end of the agitator hub is provided with a 7 socket 30 for a drive nut 3| fixed on the upper end of a vertical shaft 32. The agitator is held on the drive nut 3| by a spring 3la mounted in a groove 3) in the agitator hub and cooperating with a groove 3lc in the drive nut. The shaft 32 extends upward from the bottom wall I8 of the outer casing through a sleeve 33 and through the carrier hub 5. The shaft 32 is journaled in the upper end of the sleeve 33 by means of a selfaligning bearing 34 carried in a seat 35 held in the upper end of the sleeve 33 by a spun-over portion 36. The upper end of the sleeve 33 is substantially above the normal water level in the outer casing. A deflector 31 fixed to the shaft 32 above the bearing 34 protects the bearing from water which might leak 'down around the shaft 32.

The carrier hub 5 is rotatably supported and guided on the shaft 32 by means of'a sleeve bearing 38 fixed to the lower .part of the carrier hub 5 and by means of a combined sleeve and thrust bearing 39 fixed to the upper part of the hub by pins 35a. The inner surface of the bearing 39 bears on a sleeve 40 splined on the upper end of the shaft 32 and resting on a shoulder 4|. The lower edge of the bearing 33 rests on a thrust washer 42 on an outwardly projecting flange 43 on the sleeve 40. The weight of the clothes receptacle 4 and its contents is accordingly transmitted to the vertical shaft 32 through the carrier to the bearing .39, and from the bearing 33 through theflange 43. to the shoulder 41. The driving connection between the vertical shaft 82 and the clothes receptacle 4 is effected by means of a lost motion clutch comprising a stop 44 fixed to .the carrier hub 5 and a projection 45 on a sleeve 48 having a friction connection with the shaft 32. As is apparent .from Fig. 6, the pro-- jection 45. will engage the stop 44 upon continuous rotation, but will not engage the stop while the shaft 32 is being oscillated through an angle somewhat greater than 180?, which is the normal angle of oscillation for the agitator. The friction connection between the sleeve 48 and the shaft comprises a series of metal disks 41 and 48 with disks 48 of friction material arranged therebetween. Th'e disks 41 are splined to the shaft 32.

The disks 48 which are arranged intermediate the disks 41 are loose on the shaft but. have .integral tongues 58 (Fig. 6) fitting in a groove 5| in the inner surface of theprojection 45. The

upper end of the sleeve 48 is closed by an integral wall 52 loosely surrounding the shaft 32. The disks 41 and 48 are pressed into frictional engagement with the friction disks by a spring 53 arranged between the lowermost disk 41 and a wsasher 54 fixed within the lower end of the sleeve 4 The shaft 32 may be oscillated at washing speed or rotated at centrifugal drying speed by any suitable mechanism, for example that shown in Patent 2,161,618 G. W. Dunham'. I

At the upper end of the agitator hub 25 is a trough 55, the upper edge of which is at or slightly below the centrifugal discharge opening 24a.

During washing, when the agitator is oscillated, water currents are produced in the clothes receptacle which fiow generally radially outward from the agitatofalong the botom wall of the clothes receptacle, upward along the receptacle side walls, and radially inward toward the trough 55. Solid particles suspended in the wash water, such as lint and. the reaction products of soap, tend to rise to the surfaceof the water and be. carried by the water currents into the trough 55. From one aspect the trough 55 acts to skim the surface of the wash water. The water entering the trough 55 flows therefrom through openings 58 in the agitator hub to the space between the agitator hub and the carrier members are pressed outwar d'into engagement with the inner surface of the agitator hub around the openings 58 by a resilient ring 8|. The outward movement of the'valve members 58 is made possible by slots 62 in the lower end of the sleeve 88. The sleeve '88 is provided with upwardly extending tabs 88 slidably extending through slots 84 in the agitator drive nut 3|. The upper ends of the tabs 63 are fixed to a nut 85 clamped to the under side of a cap 88. The cap 88 depends around the upper end of the agitator hub 25 and serves as a splash guard. When the cap 88 is in the loweredposition illustrated in Fig. 2, the openings 58 are closed by the valve members58. By lifting the cap 88 to the position shown in Figi 3, the sleeve 88 is raised to a position in which the valve members 58 uncover the openings 58. The cap 88 is held in the raised position by a resilient ring 81 arranged in a groove 88 in the agi-" tator hub and cooperating with a bead 88 on the cap 88. When the openings or ports 58 are open the water in the clothes receptacle fiows through the openings in the same manner as through the openings 58 from the trough 55 to the space between the agitator .and carrier hubs and out I through the -passages 51 to the bottom of the outer casing l. 'Ihis permits the continuous filtering of the water in the clothes receptacle when the clothes receptacle is filled to the level of the openings 58 so that the machine can efilciently wash a smaller than normal load of clothes.

Water is supplied to the machine from a conduit 10 connected to a suitable watersupply through a valve 1| and a conduit 12 discharging into the upper end of the clothes receptacle. When the clothes receptacle is filled to the desired level, i. e. the level of the upper edgev of the trough 55 or the level of the openings 58, the water flows out of the receptacleto the bottom of the outer casing and actuates an annular fioat 13 surrounding a sleeve 14 fixed to the bottom wall l8 of the outer casing. The

. float has an operating rod 15 slidable through hub 5. From this space the water flows through openings 51 in the enlarged portion 22 at the lower end of thehub 5 into the bottom of the outer casing, whence it is pumped through the conduit 20 onto the filter l2. During washing, water from the region containing the greatest proportion of suspended particles is accordingly continuously withdrawn from the receptacle,

the sleeve 14 and connected to a lever 18 pivoted on a bracket 11 fixed to the lower. end of the sleeve. Leakage around the operating rodis prevented by a bellows seal arranged between the rod and the sleeve. Upon raising of the float 13, a cam 18 on the lever 18 cooperates with a plunger 18 on the valve to close the same. By this arrangement, the water supplied to the machine is automatically shut off by the float when the receptacle has been filled to the desired level.

filtered so as to remove the suspended particles,

and returned to the receptacle.

The trough 55 is located so as to function most efliciently when the machine is filled to the level required to wash a normal load of clothes. It is occasionally desirable that the machine be used to wash a smaller than normal load of clothes, in which case a smalleramount ofwater is required. If the clothes receptacle is only partly filled with water, the trough 55 would be ineffective and Wh at I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a washing machine having a clothes receptacle to be filled to a plurality of liquid levels, an agitator therein having a tubular body, drain passages leading from within said body to the outside of the receptacle, openings in the side walls of the body at a plurality of liquid levels in the receptacle, and a valve within said body for selectively closing the openings below the desired liquid level.

2. In a washing machine, a casing, a clothes receptacle therein, means for pumping liquid the beneficial results of continuous filtering of the wash water would not be available. In the present construction this problem is solved by the provision of openings 58 in the agitator hub at a lower level than the trough 55. The openings 58 are normally closed by valve members 58' at the lower end of a sleeve 80 slidable between the agitator hub 25 and the carrier hub'5. The valve from the casing to the receptacle, an agitator in the receptacle having a'tubular body, drain passages from the interior of said body through the bottom of the receptacle to the casing, overflow passages in the side walls of said body at a plurality of liquid levels in the receptacle, and valve means for selectively closing the overflow passages below the desiredliquid level.

3. In a washing machine, a clothes receptacle, an'agitator having a tubular body therein,

passages through the side walls of said body at aplurality of liquid levels in the receptacle, valve means for selectively closing the passages below the desired liquid level, and means for circulating liquid from the receptacle into said tubular body through the passages at the liquid level in the receptacle and from said tubular body back to the receptacle.

4. In a washing machine, an agitator having a tubular body, passages to the interior of said body at a plurality of liquid levels in the receptacle, a valve within said agitator body for selectively closing the passages below the desired liquid level, and an operating member for said valve havinga handle at the top of said agitator body. p v

5. In a washing machine, a casing, a clothes receptacle therein, means for pumping liquid from the casing to the receptacle, a hollow body in the receptacle, agitating means surrounding said body, drain passages from the interior of said body through the bottom of the receptacle to thecasing, overflow passages in the side walls of said body at a plurality of liquid levels in the receptacle and valve means for selectively closing the overflow passages below the desired liquid level.

CHARLES K. SKINNER. 

